Phenocal™ Rapid Weight Loss Fat Burner Review

Our web host has just received a threatening note from an “alleged” representative of the makers of Phenocal, alleging that with our review, we have infringed on their trademark and are in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. You can read the letter and our response to it here. Today, we received a similar notice from our registrar and a PDF file, which you can review here. Accordingly, we’ve added Phenocal’s parent company, Synetgy LLC, to our “Wall of Shame” along with a list of other companies that have used threats of bogus lawsuits to try to intimidate us.

Update: We had to “disappear” this review from view for a while, because of the bogus DMCA allegation. Our domain name registrar, Dotster, was happy to throw us “under the bus”, putting the onus on us to prove that the accusation was bogus. Instead of doing this, we moved UltimateFatBurner.com to an international registrar, one that is not subject to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the DMCA is a U.S. law, not an International one). More on the whole sordid affair here!

… and so on. But, despite all the talk of “synergistically balanced all-natural ingredients that will produce accelerated fat shredding weight loss results”, Phenocal™ isn’t really anything particularly special or new. And it ain’t particularly cheap either; a single bottle retails for $44!

So what’s in Phenocal™?

That’s a good question, so let’s check it out!…

The first problem with Phenocal is that it contains a lot of ingredients (16 in total, athough several are B vitamins), several of which need to be present in multi-gram doses to be effective.

What’s the importance of this?

Well, the logistics of capsule and serving size limit the amount of ingredient that any product can contain. And, since the effectiveness of individual ingredients is dose dependent, this guarantees that some of the ingredients simply cannot be present in a dose high enough to elicit any effect.

And of course, there’s another problem too; the retailers do not reveal the dosage or standardization of most of the included ingredients which makes it impossible to assess which ones are present at an effective dose or not.

This makes it extremely difficult for both us (and the consumer) to determine whether this product delivers good value for the money.

The principal ingredients in Phenocal are…

1. B Vitamins: It’s not uncommon to see B vitamins in weight loss products, since they are essential to proper cell metabolism. What is unclear, however, just how much benefit these offer to individuals who are not suffering from a deficiency, which is uncommon in North America. This formula also contains Vitamin B12, which according to the retailers…

“… is well known for the energy boost it provides, which can make completing that grueling, calorie-burning workout possible.”

… results indicated that the plasma response to dietary epoxyxanthophylls was very low in humans even after 1-week intake of epoxyxanthophyll-rich diets.”

The question then becomes…

If the human body has difficulty accessing this compound, how effective can it be as a fat burner?

It would be tempting to think that the makers of Phenocal have found a solution to this (potential) problem: add a thumping lot of fucoxanthin – 100mg – so that even if only a small percentage is absorbed, it’s more than enough.

The only problem is that this amount – which is prominently displayed on the Phenocal web site – simply cannot be believed.

Here’s the deal: the human weight loss study that propelled fucoxanthin into the spotlight used Xanthigen as the source. Xanthigen isn’t even close to being a pure fucoxanthin supplement: the 600 mg of Xanthigen used in the study provided only 2.4mg of this compound. This isn’t too different from what other, commercial extracts provide, like Bellalean or ThinOgen, which provide up to 5% fucoxanthin.

If the Xanthigen study is anything to go by, it does not take much fucoxanthin to have an effect.

So does Phenocal really contain 100mg of fucoxanthin?

I seriously doubt it – there is zero scientific justification for this… not to mention, a distinct lack of supplement ingredient suppliers selling pure fucoxanthin. It’s much more likely that Phenocal contains 100mg of brown seaweed extract that’s (hopefully!) standardized for 1% – 5% fucoxanthin… although it’s quite telling that the makers of Phenocal don’t seem to know the difference.

So much for “…we know the exact strength of the active compounds in each and every capsule in every bottle of Phenocal.”

Regardless, in order for glucomannan to be effective, it has to be delivered in a large dose (3,000 mg per day). Does Phenocal™ contain that much? Given the size of the blend (2230mg) and the number of ingredients in it, it’s not likely.

Additionally, glucomannan may bind with and hinder the absorption of certain nutrients. It has to be considered, therefore, if the presence of glucomannan in significant amounts may actually hinder the effectiveness of the rest of any formula it is included in.

5. Cocoa extract (standardized for phenylalanine, tyramine, 10% theobromine): Retailers have been including cocoa-based xanthines (xanthines are chemicals similar to caffeine) and biogenic amines in fat burners for ages. While they may have a stimulating effect, there’s relatively little evidence they are useful for weight loss.

“Known for its appetite suppressing properties, hoodia gordonii can make it easier to feel satisfied on smaller portions and forgo those late night snacks.”

Unfortunately, there’s no clinical evidence to support such a statement.

7. Green tea extract: One of the few “bright lights” in the natural weight loss supplement world, green tea does appear to have bona fide benefits for dieters (click here for the full review). Some of these benefits include slightly elevating the metabolism, inhibiting the action of the enzyme (amylase) required for the metabolism of carbohydrates and so on.

Whether this product contains an effective dose of standardized green tea is unknown.

8. 5-HTP (5-hydroxyptophan): There is some clinical evidence that validates this ingredient’s use as an appetite suppressant (see Am J Clin Nutr. 1992 Nov;56(5):863-7). It’s important to note that this study used 900 mg of 5-HTP to achieve these results. Back when this product’s sales copy used to include dosage numbers, it was revealed only 200 mg (less than a fourth of the amount used in the study) was included in the formula. Today, it’s not known whether Phenocal™ contains an effective dose, since that information is not revealed.

9. Bioperine® Black Pepper extract: Bioperine® increases the bioavailability of certain ingredients, making them more accessible to the body. A worthwhile addition to any product.

“Given at a dose of 3.2 g/d, CLA produces a modest loss in body fat in humans.”

Of course, the issue is that once again, we don’t know if Phenocal contains an effective dose.

In the end, the main problem with Phenocal™ is not that it does not contain some useful ingredients. It does; glucomannan, green tea, CLA and 5-HTP have all been clinically demonstrated to show some weight loss benefits, while others, like fucoxanthin, are promising.

The problem is that logistics of serving size all but guarantees that it is impossible that all ingredients can be present at an effective dose. In other words, some ingredients serve as “label dressing.”

Problem is, we don’t know which ones.

The retailers could clearly demonstrate their commitment to their customers by implementing full transparency in their product labeling. There would be no “guessing” as to the value offered by this product in this case. In my experience, retailers whose products DO contain the precise amounts of ingredients shown beneficial in clinical studies are pretty eager to get this information “front and center” in their sales copy.

Additionally, the interests of Phenocal™ would also be better served by eliminating the ingredients for which little or no clinical evidence exists, and shoring up the amounts of the ones that do.

As it stands now, Phenocal™ is an expensive product of indeterminable effectiveness.

Phenocal Summary

Contains some useful ingredients.

Dose is large enough to (potentially) contain useful doses of some of them.

Ingredients are generally healthful.

Likely contains a certain amount of “label dressing.”

Proprietary blend conceals doses of many ingredients.

Fucoxanthin ingredient is likely mis-labeled.

Pricey.

Author: Paul

Paul Crane is the founder of UltimateFatBurner.com. His passions include supplements, working out, motorcycles, guitars... and of course, his German Shepherd dogs.

10 Comments

Susan

October 7, 2013

I’m glad you stuck to your principles and didn’t back down. I read your sight frequently and have recommended it for it’s ethical standards. Glad to see I wasn’t wrong.

Hysterical. I read the letter and found it unusual that it didn’t come from the Phenocal manufacturers directly or a real law firm. Being in the industry I called them up and spoke to Martin Landry (he’s their retail sales director). He thought I was joking him. I showed him the links and he contacted the phone # and the email listed on the letter you posted. The Phenocal folks don’t know anyone named “Craig Schwartz.” and a “Gold Street Media” ….That address on the letter is some virtual address like a UPS Store. It appears you’ve been duped by some guy who has an agenda. All the same, you made my weekend!

…clearly identifies Mr Schwartz as being duly authorized to act on behalf of Synetgy LLC. If it was a “ruse”, we were not the only ones fooled; it was “official” enough to have our old registrar threaten to pull down the site, and for our web host to consult their own legal counsel.

Hi Elissa , So before fully doing my homework on Phenocal, I made a mistake in ordering it, After reading the reviews or lack of information on the product(my bad) I’m now about to return it. It’s been a couple of weeks, I’m curious to see how this process goes with the “60 day money back Guarantee”

Glad you stuck to your guns, this is another bullshit product pushed by scam websites such as ConsumerHealthDigest.com . They are based in India and push products like Phenocal, and then write horrible reviews about other products and brands.

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Since 1999, UltimateFatBurner has been one of the few sites on the Net dedicated to bringing you unbiased and science-based reviews of all your favorite (and not so favorite) diet, weight loss and sport supplements.

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